Dakota Gold — John Anderson

Fort Benton would be but prairie dust had not the lonely Missouri River blessed the southern flank of town. And the MacKay children, Rob and Marlo, would be bored had not the Clint Sharndo gang come into town. Turns out the gang robbed the gold shipment aboard the steamer Dakota, and they decided to stay at the Johnson Hotel in Fort Benton and lie low a while. Having drunk too much whiskey one evening, the gang freely talks of their robbery and passes around a map of where the gold is buried. What they don't know is that Marlo, ever the adventure seeker, and Rob, whom Marlo has dragged along, found their room at the hotel and saw and heard everything. Marlo feels it's her duty to return the gold, so she sneaks into the room after the gang leaves and retrieves the map. She convinces Rob to help her get the gold back. They study the map and find, to their delight, that the gold is hidden in the White Cliffs in the badlands that border the Missouri River. They build a raft and take off into an exciting, bold mission. But with the Sharndo gang hot on their trail and Indians in the badlands, will they make it to the hiding place and return safely home? Find out in Dakota Gold. John Anderson lives in Montana. Dakota Gold is his first novel.